It's the Super Bowl of Advertising, Too

Jan. 29, 2007 — -- By now, director Ridley Scott's Orwellian spot for Apple Computer is a pop-culture legend -- and probably the most famous television commercial in history.

The Apple spot aired just once, on Jan. 22, 1984 -- Super Bowl Sunday. But those 60 seconds launched a fledgling company and rewrote the rules of Super Bowl advertising.

Scott's ad cost about $800,000 to air, which seems quaint by today's standards. Advertisers will shell out as much as $2.6 million for each 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLI.

That's the most expensive ad buy in television history, eclipsing last year's game. But companies believe it's worth it. An estimated 90 million people worldwide will tune into the game on CBS on Feb. 4.

Scoring a choice seat at a Super Bowl party has become as much about catching a glimpse of the commercials as watching the game itself.

This year, more than ever, major advertisers have rolled out the hype long before you crack open that first beer. Marketers are trying to get more bang for their game-day ad bucks by running marketing contests, promoting online voting and offering online previews to drive interest and increase online traffic.

"They're trying to drum up a lot of excitement before the Bowl," said Jonah Bloom, editor of Advertising Age. "The point today is to try to drive people to your Web site."